The Cinder Bridge FAQ

Acoustic rock, heavy on the piano. Various people have compared us to early Billy Joel, Carole King, Tori Amos, and Janis Joplin, none of whom sound anything alike. We have a few songs at the top of the sidebar if your curiosity is piqued.

So this blog is all about Cinder Bridge's exploits, then?

Partially. If I can get a good story out of a gig, a rehearsal, fan feedback, etc., then I'll write about it, but there's only so many ways you can say "We had a gig and we played well and people liked us" before it gets boring.

To keep it not boring, I write about music-related stuff in general. Topics include what we're up to, songwriting, attempts to balance artistic endeavors with a full-time day job, music news, and invisible illnesses, particularly neuroimmune diseases like myalgic encephalomyelitis.

Um, wait. What was that last one again?

Myalgic encephalomyelitis, more commonly known by the stupid name "chronic fatigue syndrome," often referred to as ME/CFS. You can learn more about it here.

OK, but what does that have to do with your band?

We have a song, "Everybody Knows About Me," about living with undiagnosed ME/CFS. We do advocacy through "Everybody Knows About Me," a couple of other similarly themed songs, and blog posts on the subject.

That would explain why you'll be posting about illegal music downloads one day, and new developments in ME/CFS research the next.

Yeah. Earlier in this blog's history, I tried to make our connection to the subject clearer by mentioning "Everybody Knows About Me" when I wrote about ME/CFS news. Now I don't bother unless there's a real tie-in to the song.

How did you get into ME/CFS advocacy? Are you guys sick?

No, we don't have it ourselves. We know someone who does. Through him, we not only discovered how awful the disease is, but also how many people assume it's psychological. I wrote "Everybody Knows About Me" to get across, in a non-preachy way, how stupid it is to believe that sufferers are somehow reaping advantages from a severe and debilitating illness.

Where can we hear "Everybody Knows About Me"?

Remember those songs on the sidebar? It's the one on top. It's also featured in a video that raises awareness about ME/CFS.